Rose Hips: How to Grow, Harvest, and Use Them for Tea and Syrup

Rose Hips

Overview

Rose hips are the fruit of a rose. “The hip (also referred to as a hep or haw) is the fruit of a rose, and, like all fruit, it develops after the fertilization of the flower occurs,” says Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG). “When the flower is spared from deadheading, many small seeds—called achenes by botanists—grow inside, and the hip swells.”

This page covers growing, picking, and cooking with rose hips. It makes no health claims.

Here’s the short version:

1. Grow a rose that sets hips, such as rugosa. Read NC State’s invasive note first.
2. Stop deadheading late in the season. Sources say anywhere from September to the end of the season.
3. Pick them once they color. Most of our sources say orange to red. They differ on firm or soft, and on waiting for frost.
4. Trim and rinse them, then remove the seeds and hairs, or strain them out after cooking.
5. Dry or freeze them.
6. Brew tea or make a syrup.
7. Read the safety notes before you eat them.

Which roses to grow for rose hips

Many roses set hips if their spent blooms stay on. “Hips appear in many shapes, colors, and textures—there are as many variations in hips as there are in roses,” BBG says, and many gardeners see them “as a fall bonus from their single-blooming roses.” Not every planting fruits well, though (see the trial below).

Rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa) is the rose our extension sources name for its fruit. NC State Extension says, “The fruits of this shrub are the source of the rose hips used commercially to make tea.” UW–Madison’s Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems (CIAS) calls it Fruiting Rose, “so named because it is supposed to have a proliferation of large and meaty rose hips.”

Fruit set isn’t guaranteed. UW–Madison CIAS trialed the cultivar ‘Jubilee’ on one farm, Carandale, and reports, “Fruit set has been poor.” It adds, “Carandale does not have an explanation for the lack of fruiting. It could be the cultivar or the site.” In its discussion, CIAS adds, “Carandale has observed how fruitful they can be at other locations but has not experienced this at their site.” It also writes, “Although literature indicates otherwise, it appears not to be self-fertile. Planting another cultivar for cross pollination would also resolve a fertility issue.”

Check this before you plant rugosa. NC State warns: “This shrub has become invasive, especially in the New England states, Virginia and parts of Canada, especially along coastal areas. Many cultivars have been developed with single, semi-double, or double flowers in various colors and with fewer prickles. Please choose a cultivar that is better behaved than the species.” It lists native alternatives (Rosa carolina, R. palustris, and R. setigera), though it doesn’t say how they fruit.

UW–Madison CIAS also flags it: “Fruiting rose is a pioneering plant considered invasive in some habitats, particularly along sea shores in northern Europe where it out-competes other flora and reduces diversity.” It says the “potential to become a weed species should be evaluated on a cultivar- and site-specific basis.” On the one farm it trialed, rugosa “has spread some by root suckering over 10 years, but this has been controlled by mowing.”

Dog rose (Rosa canina): Cambridge University Botanic Garden describes it as a UK native that scrambles through other plants to about 13 feet (4 m). It says the hips were traditionally used to make rosehip syrup. None of our sources gives US zones, sun, or soil for dog rose.

Growing rugosa roses for hips

Rugosa wants sun and good drainage, and it puts up with poor, dry, or salty ground.

• Sun: NC State calls for “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day).” CIAS says, “Rugosa likes full sun and will tolerate partial shade, but cannot compete in a woodland environment.”
• Soil: “It prefers moist, acidic to neutral, well-drained soils and is poor soil tolerant in full sun. It is also drought and salt-tolerant” (NC State). CIAS says it tolerates “a wide range of types,” well drained.
• Zones: NC State lists USDA zones 2a through 7b; CIAS gives “3-9.” Check your zone against both.
• Size: “The shrub will grow 4-6 feet tall and wide, has many prickles and will sucker and form thickets, crowding out other plants” (NC State).
• Time to fruit: CIAS’s crop profile lists “Years to harvest – 2-3.”

None of our sources covers growing rugosa in a pot. Want herbs to grow alongside your roses? Start Your First Medicinal Herb Garden covers light, pots, and soil.

Should you deadhead roses if you want hips?

Not late in the season. “The spent flowers eventually develop into hips (fruits),” says Iowa State Extension.

Hips take “a lot of the plant’s energy,” says Colorado State University Extension in Pueblo County (CSU), and “most rose growers want that energy used for blooms,” so they deadhead in spring and summer. “In the fall, this is no longer necessary, and we can allow the hips to grow.”

When to stop, by source:

• Iowa State: “Stop deadheading hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda roses in September.”
• South Dakota State Extension: you “might want to leave the last set of spent blooms on the plant at the end of the season to allow rose hips to form.”
• CSU: in the fall (above).
• BBG, on repeat bloomers: they “can also be left with their hips on toward the end of September and into October.”

When to harvest rose hips

Pick once the hips have colored. Each source puts it a little differently, and they differ on softness and frost.

Color:

• CSU (Colorado): “Hips are ripe when they are orange to red in color and firm to touch, like the consistency of a ripe avocado.”
• An OSU Extension Master Gardener, answering an Oregon question on Ask Extension: “Rose hips should be harvested after they have turned at least orange, and better red.” Green hips “may not have any pulp and/or may not have good flavor.”
• NC State, on rugosa: “They are initially dull green and ripen to bright glossy red to orange by late summer.”
• University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension (UAF), writing about Alaska’s wild roses: red and ripe (quoted under “Firm or soft” below).

Hip colors vary, too. BBG says, “Look for hips in bright orange, red, burgundy, and iridescent purplish black.” None of our sources gives a picking cue for burgundy or black hips.

Firm or soft: CSU says firm. UAF’s page says both: “Rose hips may be collected anytime from August through winter in most places, when they are firm but red and ripe.” Two sentences later: “The hips should be soft and ripe. The riper they are, the sweeter they will be.” For drying, UAF says seeding is easiest with slightly underripe hips (see drying).

Frost: UAF says, “Collecting them after the first frost is often recommended.” The OSU Master Gardener says, “They are sweeter after the first frost.” None of the sources we checked says you have to wait for frost.

Timing: “Generally, hips are ripe in October in Colorado” (CSU). For rugosa, NC State says, “The fruits are present from August and persist until winter.”

What to skip: “Mushy, damaged, or wrinkled hips should not be consumed” (CSU).

How to pick, clean, and seed rose hips

The seeds and hairs have to come out, or be strained out.

1. Pick from unsprayed plants. UAF says: “Pick petals and hips that are in an area free from pesticides, herbicides, automobile exhaust fumes and other contaminants. Wash them before use to remove dust, insect or animal debris.” Our advice: pick from roses you grow or know are unsprayed. This page doesn’t cover identifying wild roses.
2. Cut them off. “Rose hips can be harvested by simply cutting them off,” CSU says. Bypass pruning shears such as Fiskars bypass pruning shears (5/8 in.)ad work for that. Our advice: wear gloves, since NC State says rugosa “has many prickles.”
3. Clean them soon. UAF says: “Rose hips should be cleaned soon after collection. Remove the stem and blossom ends, rinse the hips with cold water then shake or pat dry. They may be stored covered in the refrigerator for one week.”
4. Deal with the seeds. UAF says: “The stem, blossom end and seeds of the rose hip should be removed before they are consumed. The seeds have two prongs that might lodge in the intestines and cause considerable problems. Remove them before using the hip, or strain through a fine strainer.”
5. And the hairs. CSU says: “They are edible but they contain tiny little hairs that irritate the mouth and intestines.” Cambridge says of dog rose: “The hips also contain fine, irritant hairs which have been used to produce itching powder.”
6. To seed them raw, UAF says to “Slit the fresh rose hips down the side and remove the seeds with the point of a sharp knife.” Our advice: halve each hip, scrape out the seeds and hairs with the knife tip or a small spoon, and rinse.
7. Or strain after cooking. For juice, UAF drips the cooked hips through “a jelly bag or cheesecloth in colander”; for puree, it presses them through a sieve “to remove the seeds and skins.” Norpro jelly strainer bagsad are one option for the bag.

How to dry or freeze rose hips

Seed them first, then dry them until they’re brittle. UAF’s method:

“When seeds have been removed from the hips, spread the hips on a tray in a well-ventilated room for a few days or in a 140°F oven for a few hours, until they are crisp and brittle. To dry rose hips in a dehydrator, spread the pitted hips on an open screen and dry as for other fruits, following directions for the dehydrator.”

UAF says seeding “is easiest with slightly underripe hips.” Overripe pulp is mushy and hard to separate from the seeds. For overripe hips, UAF makes a puree and dries it “as for fruit leather.”

Storing: “The dried hips can be powdered or grated and stored in a clean, dry, sealed container” (UAF). None of our rose hip sources gives a storage time. Our drying guide covers leaves, flowers, and roots. Follow UAF for drying hips. For jars and labels, see the guide’s storage section.

To freeze them, UAF spreads fresh hips in one layer on a cookie sheet, freezes them, then bags them. “Properly frozen rose hips will last up to two years.”

How to use rose hips: tea, syrup, jelly, and more

UAF says, “Rose hips may be used for tea, in baked products and in jelly.”

Rose hip tea

UAF’s tea starts with dried hips: “Use dried hips; crush as fine as possible with a mortar and pestle or a blender.” It puts “approximately 1 teaspoon of rose hip powder or pieces into a teapot,” adds boiling water, and steeps it “for 5 to 10 minutes.”

CSU says hips “can be utilized whole in teas,” though it also warns about the hairs. Our advice: seed them first, or pour the tea through a fine strainer. For the general method and storing leftovers, see how to make herbal infusions. Planning more tea plants? See the herbal tea garden guide.

Hot water caution: The American Burn Association says, “Young children’s skin burns more quickly and deeply than adults’. Hot water, drinks, and kitchen items can cause serious scald burns,” and advises, “Keep hot drinks away from the table and counter edges” (American Burn Association).

Rose hip syrup

None of our sources gives a rose hip syrup recipe. Cambridge notes that dog rose hips were traditionally used for it. Our syrups guide gives a general method (our advice): make a strong tea first (UAF’s tea above uses dried hips and boiling water), then strain it and sweeten it to taste. For straining, sweetening, and storing, see how to make any herbal syrup. Our advice: strain through a fine bag or strainer to catch the hairs.

If you sweeten with honey, follow the CDC: “Do not feed honey to a child who is younger than 1 year old.” The syrups guide’s note on honey, sugar, and maple syrup has more.

Keep it in the fridge. An Ask Extension expert, answering a question about herbal syrups, said: “There are not any research based recipes for canning infused simple syrups. If you want to do this, you would need to refrigerate the syrup for storage, only keeping for a couple of weeks, or make fresh.”

Juice, jelly, and jam

UAF says, “Rose hip puree may be used to make jams, marmalades and catsup.” Its publication gives a rose hip juice method and a jelly recipe with its own canning steps. Follow it as written; we don’t print canning steps here. UAF notes, “Rose hip jelly may take up to one week to set.” Two storage lines from UAF:

• Juice: “For long-term storage, the juice should be frozen or canned.”
• Puree: “For long-term storage, the puree should be frozen. Canning is not a safe method of preserving puree.”

Herbal vinegar

None of our rose hip sources covers vinegar, so this is our suggestion. If you try dried hips in one, follow our herbal vinegars guide, including its storage and safety notes.

Parts used and preparations

You use the hip’s flesh, with the stem, blossom end, seeds, and hairs removed or strained out (how). Rose petals are a different part, and this page doesn’t cover them. Preparations: dried, tea, syrup, juice and jelly, and vinegar.

Safety notes

These notes are about eating or drinking rose hips, not growing them.

What our sources warn about:

• Seeds: “The seeds have two prongs that might lodge in the intestines and cause considerable problems” (UAF). Remove them or strain them out (how).
• Hairs: “They are edible but they contain tiny little hairs that irritate the mouth and intestines” (CSU).
• Sprayed or roadside roses: “Use rose hips not exposed to chemicals, car exhaust or excessive dust” (UAF).
• Spoiled hips: “Mushy, damaged, or wrinkled hips should not be consumed” (CSU).
• Puree: “Canning is not a safe method of preserving puree” (UAF).
• Syrup: keep it in the fridge (Ask Extension, above).

What the health references say: nothing on rose hips.

• The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) has no rose hip page in its Herbs at a Glance list (checked in November 2026).
• Memorial Sloan Kettering’s About Herbs has no rose hip entry (checked in November 2026).
• The European Medicines Agency’s herbal medicines list has no entry for rose hip. Its only rose entry is for rose flower (Rosae flos), a different part. That entry covers Rosa centifolia, R. gallica, and R. damascena (checked in November 2026).

None of these references, and none of the extension and garden sources on this page, covers rose hips in pregnancy or breastfeeding, for children, for people with allergies, or with medicines. That gap doesn’t mean rose hips are safe for those groups. It means we have nothing sourced to tell you.

Talk to your doctor or pharmacist (our advice) before eating rose hips regularly if you’re pregnant, breastfeeding, giving them to a child, or taking any medicine.

Rugosa’s invasive warning is under which roses to grow.

Leave the last roses on, pick the hips once they color, and remove or strain out the seeds and hairs. Then dry your harvest, store it, and brew a tea or make a syrup.

All Plant Guides